The death of a banker: Navigating unbearable pressure and expectations

When targets are overwhelming, senior management and customers are both impatient, and there is constant fear, not every banker has the resilience to survive and thrive

This is an apocryphal story. In the summer of 2009, at a pre-kindergarten school at Santa Barbara, California, the director asked the students to introduce themselves – a ritual to kick off the academic year. The students were children of doctors, lawyers, scientists, businessmen…

 

When a three-year-old girl sheepishly said, “My dad is a pole dancer”, there was a pindrop silence. The director hugged the little kid, kissed her, and was all praise for her boldness, given the social stigma the profession carried.

 

Before leaving the class, the kid whispered into the director’s ears: “Miss, I lied. My dad is